Last week, I bought a couple of whole ducks and Broke them Down them so that I could make a Duck Confit feast for a family gathering. After he work of liberating the various cuts of meat from the carcass was done, we were left with a few sets of duck bones…so we decided to use them to make soup!
Given how fatty duck can be, we started by removing as much of the skin as we could so the fat wouldn’t render and form giant grease bubbles in our stock…then into the pot of water the bones went along with some onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaves (and eventually salt). Once the stock was done, removed the unwanted ingredients, refreshed them with new ones, and we had a soup ready to go!
We served our soup with Homemade Dinner Rolls to dip in and soak up the goodness!

Time: 1-4 Hours (depending on whether you’re making the stock)
Ingredients:
- For the Stock:
- Duck Bones (best if they have a little meat on them)
- Water
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Bay Leaves
- Salt
- For the Soup:
- Duck Stock
- Barley
- Celery
- Carrots
- Optional: More salt (to taste) and Black Pepper
Ingredients:
- Make Your Stock:
- Remove as much skin from your duck carcass as possible, and then put the bones and any meat still clinging on into a large pot.
- Cut up an onion, some celery, and some carrots, and add them to your pot as well.
- Toss in a couple of bay leaves, and then fill with water.
- Cover, and let simmer for 2 hours.
- As your stock simmers, add salt to taste.
- Turn Your Stock into Soup:
- When your stock is ready, put another large pot in your sink, and place a colander over it.
- Pour your stock into the new pot, and let your veggies, bay leaves, and duck bones get caught by your colander. Then, allow your duck to cool a bit until you can comfortably touch it.
- As your duck cools, dice more carrots and onions, and set aside.
- Cook your barley according to the package’s directions, and then set aside as well.
- When you can touch your duck, slide the pot that is now holding your stock out form under the colander. Pick the meat off your bones, and add them to your stock. Be careful to avoid adding bones into your soup (I let one neck bone slip in accidentally, but luckily it wound up in my bowl and not anyone else’s).
- Once all the meat is off the bone, add your diced celery and carrots to the stock, and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook for another 45 minutes or so until your celery and carrots soften.
- Towards the end of the cook time, add in your cooked barley, and allow it to heat. Now’s also a good time to add any more salt and/or pepper as you see fit.
- Plate (bowl?), Devour, and Enjoy!
Making Stock:


Turning the Stock into Soup:


